Senator representing Edo North, Adams Oshiomhole has asked organised labour to prioritise the rights of workers rather than engage in partisan politics. He said this while speaking with journalists at the presidential villa, stating that he would always be on the side of the labour unions as a worker and former union leader.
He added that the ongoing strike is motivated by political considerations rather than a clear worker-focused purpose. “Labour cannot be apolitical because politics is about the people,” he said.
“When I was in NLC I had argued that nobody has a right to be partisan, much more than those who turn the will of our industrial progress. But in saying that, we must recognise that no matter how hard you try when it comes to politics, people are going to have different reasons for supporting different candidates.
“You have to be careful not to be seen to be doing the bidding of a particular candidate or a particular political party. As president of the NLC, I made no friends with any politicians in Edo state. I was not anybody’s boy. I want to make my decisions and take responsibility for those decisions.
“You can’t find me in the house of a politician not because I hate them. I represent those guys who can only vote, even though the law allowed them to be voted for. Unfortunately, the system hardly throws them up.”
The former governor of Edo continued by questioning why labour unions are not organizing in opposition to states that have not yet imposed a minimum wage. According to him, organized labour ought to make state governments accountable for paying the federal minimum wage, which also applies to employees of local and state governments.
“If these are the issues on the table, even as a senator, I will publicly support an action against any government that thinks that we should lament away our hunger while the people do what they do,” the senator said.
“Unfortunately, this strike is not about those issues. And I think we have to be careful not to mix our political opinion with our responsibilities because the issues confronting workers are so many that they should become the priority.”
Source: The Gatekeeper News
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